[WIP] Freedom Project AMV

[MadScientist]

Hello all,

I am submitting this video for the Nan Desu Kan AMV contest. Deadline is a week away, and I was hoping to get some final feedback on it as I will have a couple days later this week to make revisions. Unfortunately I do not have a decent size render (only one is a 720p mp4 that is almost 400mb). I have uploaded it to vimeo for easier viewing, so hopefully thats ok.
Working title is "Homeward Bound" but I am still trying to think of something better.
"Homeward Bound" on Vimeo
password: freedom

or

Full 400mb H.264

Thanks in advance to those of you who take the time to provide feedback!

[MadScientist]

Here are some slightly updated versions:
Vimeo
password: freedom

275mb H.264

[AimoAio]

Hmm...not really my thing, it got a little boring sorry ^^; so I can't offer much on how to improve it but I'll tell you what I thought anyway.

I liked the concept where you made it seem like a comic with all the panels and text Pacing & sync seemed alright. Wasn't a lot of FX but the ones you had were executed well....and the only issue I really had was the variation in cutter size but I'm thinking that was intentional so yeah, nothing big.

Other that that I don't see any problems with it.

[Dorry]

I know this is very late, but just in case you're interested:

Unlike AimoAio I actually feel motivated to watch the source now. What is it, by the way?
More importantly what's the original quality of the source? I seemed a bit worse. It could be bad originally - nothing you could do about that, unless you find a better version. Maybe it's just because I watched it on Vimeo or it could be a bad encode.
I might have missed something, but how are the audio and video related? The feeling is appropriate, what about the lyrics?
I also like the concept of comic panels. Except for one thing - personally I think it looks bad if there's too much black space e.g. one larger and one smaller frame leaving huge black spaces around the smaller one. Maybe this could be solved by partials of other frames? Just to fill those voids.

[MadScientist]

First of all, new versions up:
Vimeo
password: freedom

H.264 Version 405mb

by Dorry
Unlike AimoAio I actually feel motivated to watch the source now. What is it, by the way?

Dorry, It is Freedom Project. anidb.info link. Its a decent show, and was actually part of an anniversary promotional project for Nissin, LOL. Wikipedia Link.

by Dorry
More importantly what's the original quality of the source? I seemed a bit worse. It could be bad originally - nothing you could do about that, unless you find a better version.

Its partially Vimeo's fault, partially mine. My source was far from the OCD quality I prefer (especially since I did the entire video in 1080p), but I could not get the Blu-ray box set properly ripped and encoded in time so I ended up using an alternate rip. Not my preferred method at all, but I think it still is decent quality. I would recommend checking out the H.264 version.

by AimoAio
I liked the concept where you made it seem like a comic with all the panels and text Pacing & sync seemed alright. Wasn't a lot of FX but the ones you had were executed well....and the only issue I really had was the variation in cutter size but I'm thinking that was intentional so yeah, nothing big.

by Dorry
I also like the concept of comic panels. Except for one thing - personally I think it looks bad if there's too much black space e.g. one larger and one smaller frame leaving huge black spaces around the smaller one. Maybe this could be solved by partials of other frames? Just to fill those voids.

Thanks! I have been wanting to experiment with the Comic feel for a while. And yes, the variation in cutter size was intentional. Some people seem to like it, others don't. But I think I am going to stick with it.
The point of the boxes is not so much a continuation of the comic panel style, but more of a combination of comic panel style, and some artsy vision and focus in the sequences. So, like I said, some people don't care for it, but others seem to like it a lot. Anyway, I'm not entirely confident in my execution, but I will stay with it since thats what I am going for.

by Dorry
I might have missed something, but how are the audio and video related? The feeling is appropriate, what about the lyrics?

The feel and mood of the song is a lot more of the basis of use. Although the lyrics are somewhat relevant (in that the few there are, they are talking about the dreams and aspirations of young adults/kids), they are obviously not entirely related to the footage. I feel thats ok, because really the few there are seem to emphasize the dream of Takeru, and his adventure to see it fulfilled. Maybe I'm looking at it too deep, but whatever, haha. I tend to do that sometimes...

Thanks for the feedback!